Samsung TecTiles give you something to do with your Galaxy S3's NFC

NFC has been a much-talked-about feature of new smartphones for a while now, but while we're waiting for NFC payment systems like PayPal's inStore and Barclaycard PayTag to take off, we're still looking for things to do with the technology.

Now Samsung's come to the rescue with its new TecTiles. These NFC-equipped stickers work in tandem with an app on NFC-equipped Samsung phones including the Galaxy S3 and S2 and the Galaxy Nexus.

TecTiles can be programmed to perform different functions when you wave your phone over them – from sharing contact details to opening a website and queuing up a download.

Naturally, you can lock TecTiles to one function if you're using them in public, and the app requires approval when you tap on them.

If all that sounds rather reminiscent of Sony's NFC SmartTags, well... it is. But until NFC payments get off the ground, it's one of the killer apps for NFC phones – so expect to see more manufacturers launching NFC stickers. Maybe they'll even standardise them so you can use them with different manufactuers' phones.

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TecTiles are launching in the US alongside the Galaxy S3, priced at US$15 for a pack of five – no word yet on when they're coming to the UK, but we'll keep you posted.